Grain-door construction.



PATENTED SEPT. 1', 1908.

G. H. BEHRENDT & A, LINDQUIS'T. .GRAIN DOOR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 4, 1907.

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No. 897,264. PATENTED SBPT.'1,-1908 G. H. BEHRENDT & A. LINDQU IST. GRAIN DOOR. CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 4, 1907.

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GUSTAV H. BEHRENDT AND ALBERT LINDQUIST, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

RAIN-noon consrnucrron.

No. 897,26f1.

Specification of Letters Patent.

7 Patented Sept. 1, 1908.

Application filed November 4, 1907. Serial No. 400,483.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GUSTAV H. Bnnnnxn'r and ALBERT LINDQITIS'E, citizens of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of I'lennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Door Construction; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

()ur invention relates to cars especially adapted for use in handlinggraln, but adapted also foruse in handling various other materials.

More particularly the-invention relates to cars having drop doors or hoppers forthe discharge of gram or other material.

The invention is illustrated in the accomanying drawings, wherein like characteis indicate like parts throughout the several Views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, showing the central portion of an ordinarybox car and illusating our invention. applied thereto. Fig. is a transverse vertical section taken on the line at or of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an elevation, showing a lock pawl and its supporting bracket; and Fig. 4 is an edge elevation of the arts shown in Fig. 3.

T16 car body 1 is provided in its sides with the usual door openings 2;

In the drawings our invention is illustrated as appliedto only one side of the ear, but in practice it will usually be applied to both'sides thereof. Adjacent to one of the door openings 2 the car floor is cut away to afford a seat for a grain door 3 that is hinged at 4 to the inner edge of the sill of the adjacent door opening 2. This door 3, when turned downward, is. adapted to lie flush with the-floor of the car and to form a part thereof, but when turned upward into a vertical position is adapted to engage the inner surfaces of the vertical posts of the door opening and to serve as a grain door to close said door opening. When, as is customary, grain doors are applied to both of the door openings, it is possible, but not very desirable, to have the two grain doors arranged to overlap each other, but it is referable to have the same extend along arther down to the center of the ear, and

While these dimensions permit the use of a the said sills.

grain door made in a single section or solid, high enough for a .car loaded with wheat, will not'permit the use of a solid grain door which is high enough to confine a car loaded with liax, which is lighter than wheat. Hence, the door 3 is rovided with a su pl'emental section 5 t at is hinged to t 6 free edge thereof at 6 and is adapted, when folded, to fit a recess in the said door 3, so that its under surface lies llush with the bottom of the down-turned door. When the door 3 is turned upward into working position and the supplemental section 5 is turned upward to fit an extension thereof, shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, a grain door is rendered available sufficient for holding ilaxand similar light materials, and when the door is folded up and turned downward it is entirely out of the way and the car may be used precisely as if the grain door was not applied thereto.

' The opening in the floor, which is adapted to be closed by the down-turned grain door 3,

o ens into a ho per formed between certain o' the longitudinally extended sills 7 of the car body, and between transverse filling blocks 8 interposed between and secured to Thus it will be seen that the sills of the car are not cut away or weakened to any extent, and that a sort of twoart hopper 9 is formed. The bottom of this lopper is normally closed by a drop door 10 that 1s connected to one of central members of the sills 7, by hinges 11 The free outer edge of this drop door 10 is normally engaged and held by cams or tappets 12 carried by a rock shaft .13 journaled in the bearings 14 rigidly.

secured to and depending from the over outer sill 7. Rigidly secured to the intermediate portion of the rock shaft 13 is a segmental ratchet whcel 15 that is adapted to be engaged and held by a lock bolt 16 pivotally connected at its upper end to a bracket 17 rigidly secured to and depending from the said overlying outer sill 7. The lock bolt 16, in turn, is adapted to be locked in engage. ment with a ratchet wheel 15 by means of. a pin 18 passed through coincident perforations 1n the intermediate portion of said bolt and in an outwardly extended flange of the bracket 17. The headed end of the lock pin 18 is preferably connected to one end of a chain 19. The other end of this chain 19 is attached to the free edge of the drop door 10, and the intermediate portion of said chain works within and is adaptedto be interlocked bracket '17. A thin metal sealing door 10, thereby permitting the door 10 to 15 to unloadthe car, first the seal 20 and then .livery of the grain 1nto an underlying bin or i in the car .body. Furthermore, the immay with an angular perforation 17 in the strip 20 adapted to bepassed through a perforation ln-t e projecting endof the lock pin 18' holdsard lock pm in working position.

When the grain door is in use to close the door 0 ening the hopper 9, of course, be comes lled with grain. When itis desired door for. closing the bottom of said hopper, a rock shaft supported from the floor structo l ture in the vicinity of the free edge of said door and provided with a projecting cam or tappet arranged to enga e and lock said door, a ratchet on said r'oc shaft, a pawl cooperating with said ratc'het,and means for lockingsaid pawl in engagement with said ratchet, substantially asdescribed.

:L The combination with a car body hav- I ing a hopper in its floor structure, said hoper having a hinged bottom door, a rock 1 l l. ,l

the pin 18 are removed vand then the lock dog 16 is released from the segmental ratchet wheel 15, and the-cams 12 are then turned downward from under the free edge of the drop and discharge the grain. Preferably the vicinlty of the free edge of saidbottom the door,,when lowered, is by the chain 19 door, a projecting cam or. tappet on said held in an oblique position so that it will rock sha t engageable with the free edge of serve as a deflecting board to 'assist the desaid door to lock the same, aratchet carried by said shaft, a bracket secured to the fioor otherreceptacle. By means of the chain 19 and the angular perforation 17 a in the bracket 17, the door 10 may be suspended in any angular-position suitable for the proper discharge of the grain.

The grain door construction above de-. scribed adds very little to the cost of a car; may be very conveniently operated, and when out of .use leaves no obstructions withpawl pivoted to said bracket and engageable with said through perforations in said bracket and lock dog tohold the latter engaged with said" ratchet, and a seal applied to the end of said lock pin to hold the same in o erative position, substantially as ,described tures in presence of'two witnesses.

" GUSTAV H. BEHRENDT.

ALBERT LINDQUIST.

Witnesses:

H. D. Krneorua, 3 F. D. MERCHANT.

proved grain door and hopper construction be easily applied to carssu'ch as found in general use.

e What we claim is:

1. The combination with a car body having a hopper in its floor structure, of'a hinged structure adjacent to said ratchetfia lock' ratchet, a lock pin insertibleshaft supported from said fioor' structure in Y In testimony whereof we afiix our signa-v 

